Sunday, September 30, 2012

I have eighteen cards of Alan Bannister. This one is from 1983 Donruss.

Playing career: Infielder Alan Bannister played for five
teams from 1974 to 1985, mostly the White Sox and Indians. A lifetime .270
hitter, he led the American League with eleven sacrifice flies in 1977, more
than double the number he hit in any other season.

Where he is now: He worked in real estate in Arizona for
many years but is now apparently retired.

My memories: Before my time. Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete results: He is second when you type Alan
Ban, between Alan Bankhalter, VP at Healthsearch Group, and Alan Bandes, VP at
UE Systems. Another prominent Alan Bannister played for the Utah Jazz.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

First baseman Vito Chiaravalloti played in the Blue Jays organization from 2003 to 2006, winning the New York-Penn League triple crown in 2003. Now a social studies teacher and baseball coach at Christian Brothers Academy in New Jersey, he kindly shared with me some baseball card stories. Some of the stories refer to mentions of him in an interview I did last year with photographer Mike Janes.

"Great interview with Mike, but I'd like to maybe make it more
accurate if you don't mind. First off, I feel bad if he thinks I wasn't
thrilled about the "Three bat" card that he took. I know I wasn't
smiling, but I love that card and I probably was just going through a
"don't smile and look tough in pictures" phase. lol.Second, I did not sit the last game of the season that year to win
the triple crown. I insisted on playing because I did not want it to
appear as if I was ducking the game or afraid of losing the batting
title. I bargained with my manager, and we reached a compromise that I
would get 2 at bats. I hit a double in my first ab, which guaranteed me
the batting title no matter what Nyjer Morgan did in his game (who I
think did sit his final game, but not sure). Anyway, just wanted that
to be accurate because I made a point of not sitting that game.

As for baseball cards...great questions. I have so many stories
about cards, since I collected them avidly growing up. There was
nothing cooler than when I saw my first official Topps card (which
ironically Mike took the shot for). That is a moment I will never
forget, because as most ball players will tell you, they always dreamed
of having their own baseball card. But the story that sticks out most
in my mind is so bizarre it almost seems made up. It was either late
spring training or early season 2004 and a box of cards showed up that I
needed to sign. When I opened the box, I realized I was not the only
player on the card. It was a dual player card and I literally couldn't
believe that the other player was my college teammate Tim Stauffer! I
think it was a 2004 Bowman. I then thought they made the connection
that we both went to the University of Richmond, and that's why they put
us together. But there was NO mention of Richmond on the card, so it
seemed to be just a crazy coincidence. I took a picture and texted Tim
right away (not sure if I could have texted him the picture because this
was 04, but I may have emailed it to him). We had a good laugh about
it, and I told him that he would be signing them next. That moment has
always stuck out in my mind. Tim has now gone on to have a successful
big league career, so unfortunately I am bringing down the value of that
card. I'm not sure if I have a favorite card of my own. Of course the
Stauffer/Bowman card with me on it is a unique one. But If I had to
pick, I would say between the Cracker Jack card and the 04 Topps Chrome
just because they are both different. You would probably get a better
answer from my buddy Matt Titko, though, who is an avid card/memorabilia
collector. Matt has collected every card that I ever had, even ones I
never knew existed! And he insisted on buying them all! I was always
like, "Matt, I can probably get you these cards, you don't have to buy
them." I'll ask Matt and see which one he likes the best.My favorite card all-time though would have to be the 1987 Topps
Gary Carter card, for so many reasons. First, I was a huge Mets fan and
Gary Carter was my favorite player/idol. I collected every single one
of his cards and he was probably one of the single greatest influences
on why I wanted to be a professional baseball player. But the 87 card
sticks out to me because it brings me back to a moment in my life. With
the "wooden" frame, those cards are so distinct and recognizable, and
any kid who grew up in the 80's and knows cards always talks about that
one. When I see an 87 Topps, especially the Carter card, I'm
immediately thrown back in time. It's like I'm 7 years old again,
organizing all my cards in my basement at my parents house - it just
takes me back to a place and time in my life. Plus, it's one of the
first cards I ever collected, so it will always have a fond place in my
memory. On a side note, in my last season of playing professionally I
got to meet my hero. I was playing in the Atlantic League and Gary was
managing for the Long Island Ducks. We wound up building a great
relationship that year, and although I never made it to the bigs, it
made playing all those years worth it. He was one of the nicest guys I
ever met in the game and I was so proud that he was and will always be
my favorite player."

My memories: I remember his brief stint with the Yankees,
well publicized because he was local. He was in a lot of the pictures from
David Wells’s perfect game as he was one of the players who carried him off the
field.

Interesting stories: Banks had a rough childhood in a Jersey
City housing project. When he was a small child, he was sitting in his mother’s
cousin’s lap when she was shot and killed by her husband.

Google Autocomplete results: He is eighth when you type
Willie B, between Willie Bloomquist, infielder for the Diamondbacks, and Willie
Banks Olympic Athlete, a track star.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Yesterday I profiled Josh Banks, who pitched four seasons in the major leagues, winning four games for the Padres in 2008 and 2009. In doing my research on him I saw that he was now the General Manager of the Greater Severna Park Athletic Association. I emailed him there about his baseball card experiences and he kindly answered my questions:

- Do you have any stories about cards of yourself or of other players?

As much as I wish I had some neat story about a certain card I do not have any juicy details.- Do you have a favorite card of yourself or of another player?

My favorite card of me is a panoramic picture of me pitching in
SD and you can see the ball mid-flight towards homeplate. (Photo was
shot in 08' home game in SD)- Do you collect baseball cards?

I use to collect cards by the boxes (Fleer, Donruss, Topps whole
sets) as a kid and then as I got older I seemed to stop somewhere along
the way for no particular reason.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Here are cards of Granderson and Swisher in their rookie season. They both hit long home runs last night.
Here's a great picture of Brad Ausmus with the Rockies mascot - a purple dinosaur. What does that say about a team if their mascot is Barney? Glad my team doesn't have a mascot. Anymore.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Playing career: Outfielder Brian Banks played for the
Brewers and Marlins from 1996 to 2003. In 273 games he hit .246 with 13 HR and
64 RBI.

Where he is now: After his playing career ended he went to
dental school, graduating last year. He now practices pediatric dentistry, and
has a particular interest in serving underprivileged children. He currently is
a resident at the Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City. Here is
a positive review by the mother of one of his patients, a nine-year-old boy
with Down Syndrome.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete results: All references to Brian Banks
in Google Autocomplete refer to the football player. The baseball player is
third on the first page when you google his name.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Playing career: Scott Bankhead pitched for the Mariners,
Reds, Red Sox and Yankees from from 1986 to 1995, going 57-48 with a 4.18 ERA.
He looked like a budding star after the 1989 season, when he was 14-6 with a
3.34 ERA, but injuries limited him to just four games the next season and his
career was never the same.

My memories: I remember him being on the Yankees for a very
short time, when they were populating their bullpen with a bunch of random
ex-starting pitchers from other teams like Rick Honeycutt.

Google Autocomplete results: He is fourth when you type
Scott Bank, between Scott Bank, a bank in Illinois, and Scott Banker, a sales
manager at Comcast. Another prominent Scott Bankhead is a dentist in
Massachusetts.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

First, check out my latest post at the Hall of Very Good, featuring some scandalous facts about guys on common cards.

Second, I bought a huge box of cards at a garage sale today, about 2000 cards all from the 1998-2002 range, where I don't have a lot of cards from. Sets like Fleer Tradition, Fleer Showcase, Topps Chrome, SP Authentic, Fleer Premium, Upper Deck Encore, Fleer Triple Crown, Upper Deck Pros & Prospects, and Donruss Elite. As of this writing I've just started going through the box so who knows what else is in here. I'm showcasing this card of Johnny Damon. The last time the Yankees had back-to-back walk-off wins before today was Damon's 2009 club, and today's improbable win came against the team he's wearing the uniform of here, the Oakland A's.

There are a lot of non-baseball cards in this box too. Anyone interested in trading baseball cards for basketball, hockey, or even golf? Here is a sampling of what is in here, all up for trade.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Playing career: Jeff Banister played in one game for the
Pirates in 1991 and got an infield single in his only major league at-bat.

Where he is now: He has spent his entire career in the
Pirates organization, and is now the team’s bench coach. Here is an interesting
interview about how he prepares to manage in case manager Clint Hurdle is
ejected.

Interesting facts: Banister had to overcome an unusual
amount of adversity just to make it to professional baseball. In his junior
year of high school he was diagnosed with bone cancer and almost lost his right
leg, which was saved only after seven operations. In college he broke his neck
in a collision at home plate, and was paralyzed for ten days, and needed to
re-learn how to walk. After recovering from these, his father, grandfather and
doctor all died within a three-week stretch.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete results: He is tenth when you type Jeff
Ban, after Jeff Bandar, a chemistry graduate student at Columbia University. Another
prominent Jeff Banister is an Assistant Research Social Scientist at the
University of Arizona.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Playing career: Third baseman Sal Bando played for the A’s
and Brewers from 1966 to 1981, hitting .254 with 242 HR and 1039 RBI. He was a
five-time all-star and a key member of the back-to-back-to-back world champion
A’s. He hit five home runs in 20 ALCS games. He actually had the highest WAR in
the major leagues in the five-year period from 1969-1973. As ESPN noted, he
“hit for power, drew walks and played a solid third base.” His numbers would
have been better if he hadn’t played in such a pitcher’s park.

Where he is now: After his playing career he was the General
Manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, then became a banker and ended up the CEO of
the Middleton Doll company, which makes realistic baby dolls – “The Babies That
Love You Back.” He is now semi-retired, but is a partner at Paramount Financial Strategies and the baseball advisor for the Drana Group.

Interesting facts: Bando is heavily involved with
religious organizations. He is currently a speaker for Catholic Athletes for Christ. In 2003, he started an organization called “Battin 1000” that aimed to
raise money for an anti-abortion educational institution in Virginia through
contributions from current and former major leaguers. A wit on the Baseball Think Factory Newsblog commented, “If he's as effective at this as he was at
GMing the Brewers, every woman in America will soon be having free abortions
once a year from now on.” Though not a failure on that scale, the initiative
did lose steam very quickly after its inception.

My memories: He is from before my time. Hadn’t realized just
how good a player he actually was.

Google Autocomplete results: He is first when you type Sal
B, ahead of Sal Benedetto, a photographer. Another prominent Sal Bando is a
garage/surfer band in the Baltimore area.

Google Autocomplete results: He is sixth when you type Chris
Ban, between Chris Bannon, program director for WNYC, and Chris Banuchi, a
cinematographer. There do not appear to be any other prominent Chris Bandos.

Interesting facts: His grandfather Dick Fowler (who died
before Ballouli was born) pitched ten seasons for the Philadelphia A’s, and is
the only Canadian to throw a no-hitter.

His wedding in 2009 was photographed by Studio 563 in
Austin, which uses photos from their wedding as samples of their work on their
website. Looks like a fancy affair. (Some of you might like the photo of Mrs.
Ballouli with her wedding dress half off from behind.)

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete results: He is third when you type
Khalid Bal, between Khalid Balooshi Bio and Khalid Balooshi, both of which
refer to a professional drag racer. There do not appear to be any other
prominent Khalid Balloulis.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Playing career: Jay Baller pitched parts of six seasons for
the Phillies, Cubs and Royals, going 4-9 with 6 saves and a 5.24 ERA.

Interesting facts: Baller very nearly died after the 1987
season after a mysterious toxic poisoning that some thought was brought about by
drug use. It was later officially ascribed to bad shellfish. Baller might not
have been using drugs then, but he certainly was more recently – he was
sentenced to probation in 2008 for cocaine possession.

Where he is now: He gives private baseball instruction in
Pennsylvania.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete Results: He is fifth when you type Jay Bal, between Jay Bilas, a college basketball announcer, and J Balvin a reggaeton singer. There do not appear to be any other prominent Jay Ballers.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Playing career: Jeff Ballard pitched for the Orioles and
Pirates from 1987 to 1994. With Baltimore in 1989, he was 18-8 with a 3.43 ERA.
He got hurt the following year and was never the same. In his other six seasons
he was 33-45 with a 5.21 ERA.

My memories: I didn’t even realize he had such a big season
in 1989 until I got a pack of baseball cards with a “Jeff Ballard – All Star”
card. Topps could have gone with Nolan Ryan or Dave Stewart but chose this guy
instead.

Google Autocomplete results: He is tenth when you type Jeff
Ba, after Jeff Bates, a country music singer. The first four links when you
google Jeff Ballard are not the ballplayer but a drummer.